Optical devices are currently used and are contemplated for future use in a number of applications, such as communications, networking, displays, illumination, imaging, quantum computing, medicine, sensing, spectroscopy, weaponry, and so forth. Optical devices can be implemented in a number of forms, such as optical fibers, lasers, light-emitting diodes, optical amplifiers, optical modulators, optical switches, solid-state lighting devices, display devices, and so forth.
For example, a conventional optical fiber can be a glass fiber or a polymer fiber that carries light along its length. The light can be suitably modulated so as to convey information from one end of the optical fiber to another end of the optical fiber. Optical fibers are advantageously used in fiber-optic communications, since the fibers permit transmission of information over longer distances and at higher bandwidths. Compared to, for example, metal wires, optical fibers can allow information to be transmitted with reduced loss and with greater immunity to electromagnetic interference. Optical fibers are also used for illumination, and are sometimes wrapped in bundles to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces for medical applications. Suitably designed optical fibers are also included in, for example, sensors and lasers.
As various applications continue to expand their need for optical devices, it is becoming increasingly important to introduce new technologies to keep up with growing demands. It is against this background that a need arose to develop the optical devices described herein.